It has been known in the prior art to use a polyester lashing strap to secure a load on a flat load platform of a railcar or a flatbed trailer by use of stake pockets positioned at opposite outer sides of the load platform. These stake pockets comprising a three-sided enclosure are typically welded to platform supports at the sides of the flatbed trailer or railcar and are aligned directly below a notch cut out in the load platform. These stake pockets have an open top and bottom and receive a hook which hooks onto a lower edge of the stake pocket. The hook has two slots through which an end of the lashing strap is threaded. The lashing strap then proceeds upwardly on the outside of the pocket to a strap winch and then up and over the load. The opposite end of the strap is threaded onto a second hook which engages with a lower edge of another stake pocket at the opposite side of the load.
If slack should occur in the lashing, such as by a shifting or settling of the load, the hook can disengage from the lower edge of the stake pocket. Also a portion of the strap may rub against a top edge of the stake pocket and cause degradation thereof, such as by abrasion. This may be caused by load shifts.